Panellists (from left) Sherman Zavitz, Niagara Falls Historian; Sarah Kaufman, Managing Director/Curator, NOTL Museum; Kathleen Powell, Supervisor of Historical Services and Curator at the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre; and Clark Bernat, Senior Manager of Culture, City of Niagara Falls, recently came together to discuss themes in papers written by Brock University researchers detailing key economic trends occurring in Niagara from the 1800s to the present day. These and other papers were presented to Niagara community members — including economic development officers, representatives from tourism, business and industry associations, Chambers of Commerce, and historians — at a March 4 event hosted by Brock University’s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO). The aim of the one-day Wilson Foundation Symposium on Niagara Economic History event was to gather feedback from the community before the papers’ final publication. The research project is funded by the Wilson Foundation through a multi-year partnership with Brock University — facilitated by the NCO — to map out Niagara’s economic history and deepen understanding of the region’s economic, demographic and social development.